Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-07

Is the great continuous mountain wall that
commences at the extreme western point
of the peninsula of Alaska and runs south
and along the whole coast of the conti-
nent, to and into Mexico. The extreme
starting point of this great barrier is nearly
1000 miles west of San Francisco and it
diverts all the air currents which come
from the Arctic snow and ice fields, to the
east of California 1t is the entire absence
of these Arctic winds and the presence of
tempered winds from the heated ocean
currents, that gives us winterless
climate along the fortieth parallel of
latitude-that give us the orange, the
lemon, the citron, olive and pomegranate,
in place of the snow, ice and freezing blasts
of the same latitude east of this great
mountain barrier.
THE TESTIMONY OF PRODUCTIONS.
A more indisputable evidence of the
climate of this section is in the character
of the products of so many years that this
production has passed from the domain of
experiment to that of established fact
Oranges, lemons, olives, persimmons, and
pomegranates have been successfully grown
in many places in and around Chico for
the past ten years. All the tender wine,
table and raisin grapes of the south of
France and Italy grow to perfection here,
and in quantity and quality of yield are
surpassed nowhere in the world.
TEMPERATE ZONE PRODUCTIONS.
Side by side with the semi-tropical pro-
ducts all the deciduous fruits flourish and
yield abundantly. The apple, pear, plum,
peach, cherry, apricot and nectarine trees,
side by side with the orange and lemon,
are prolific and continuous bearers. This
is the one spot where the vegetation of the
cool temperate zone and of the semi
tropics meet on common ground and find all
that is essential to their perfect production
FACTS AS TO TEMPERATURE
1t is an accepted opinion among people
living in the north temperate zone, that
any county which produces the orange and
lemon must have an oppressive tropical
heat. This is far from the truth as here
the extreme range of the thermometer is
less than in colder climates.
The temperatures of summer are never
so high as they are in Quebec, where there
is six months of winter. 1t is not believed
by those having knowledge of such mat
tiers, that with a properly exposed ther-
mometer any temperature higher than 1902
Fahrenheit would be shown in summer
From observations made for nearly third
of a century, it is known that there have
been no lower temperature in winter than
210 above zero.
NO SNOW NOR ICE-ECoNoMY OF OUR
CLIMATE.
In all that time there has been no fall
of snow that has outlived days sun, and
ice hardly ever forms. The Sicily lemon
tree, one of the most delicate and sensitive
! of semi-tropical growths, geraniums and
other tender flowers, live unprotected
through the winter months in the open
air. Such climate is not only pleasant,
but is profitable to every resident. 1t gives
the feld-worker six months more time for
field labor than he has in a land having
| winter climate, and it exacts far less ex-
pense in the maintenance of animal and
human life.
RAINFALL AND SEASONS.
The annual rainfall in the vicinity of
Chico is about "a inches, and the larger
part OF this comes in the autumn and win
ter months. What is usually called the
rainy season F" generally commences in
October, and enough rain falls so that
plowing and seeding can be done. From
that time to April, and sometimes till
May, there is rainfall Through all these
months, when the ground of the winter
climate countries is covered with snow,
and the streams are locked in ice, our
fields are alive with busy workers. There
Is no such rainy season here as is known
in some other countries. There are no
months, or weeks even, that the rain falls
so as to drive people indoors. A few
hours of rain comes, and then is followed
by two or three days of warm, balmy,
spring-like weather The weather sta
tistics show that in the year there are
more than 200 perfectly clear DAYS, and
nearly 300 in which the sun shines por-
tions Of the time.
SUMMER AND HARVEST.
About the lst of May the rains are over,
and then commences a season of cloudless
days, that continues till the autumn rains
return. June here is the having month.
and July and August the harvest months,
and during all that time the farmer has
no apprehensions of injury to his hay or
grain from rains. The grain is threshed,
sacked and piled in the field, and hauled
! to market in September and the first half
of October. There is no lost time to the
| field worker in such seasons. In fact,
there are no such seasons here as in winter
countries.
OUR WINTERLESS WINTERS.
1t is misnomer to call season "win-
ter that has no snow or ice; in which
flowers bloom in the open air, the groves
are made vocal with the song of birds the
streams alive with waterfowl. Children
play the long daysout doors, all kinds of
stock Craze on green and growing herbage,
and the fields are busy scenes with plows
harrows and cultiyators. There are only
two seasons here-spring and summer The
rains make spring and the dry season pro-
duces autumn.